(NewsGlobal.com)- So much attention at the U.S. southern border has been paid to migrants coming from Latin American countries through Mexico.
Yet, while all that is going on, there’s also another group of people who are pouring into the United States through the southern border – people from China.
During this fiscal year to date, the number of migrants coming from China that have been apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection has increased by more than 700% compared to the same period last fiscal year.
The fiscal year starts at the beginning of October every year. Since October of 2022, Border Patrol has had 2,999 encounters with Chinese nationals at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. That number is actually more than the total number of encounters with the same group of people for the entirety of the 2022 fiscal year.
Federal data that was released last Friday showed that in early February of 2022, Border Patrol had 366 encounters with Chinese nationals at the southern border. That means that the number of encounters with this group of people has increased 719% fiscal year-over-fiscal year.
If you look at all of the apprehensions Border Patrol has had with Chinese nationals so far this fiscal year, it’s up 13% over last fiscal year. This would include any encounter that Border Patrol has with Chinese nationals who either were entering the United States through Canada or on an airplane.
From October of 2022, Border Patrol has had a total of 10,587 encounters with Chinese nationals. While this represents a large year-over-year increase, it is below the levels for all migrants.
When considering every encounter with every migrant so far this fiscal year, that number is 37% greater than it was at this time during the last fiscal year.
When the federal government released this data last week, they didn’t provide any reason or potential conclusion for why Border Patrol encounters with Chinese nationals are up at such a large rate so far this fiscal year.
It could just be a coincidence that this is happening at the same time that China has been caught flying surveillance balloons over the continental United States, but it certainly does seem a little fishy.
That being said, the U.S. has experienced a huge surge in migration over the last few years, so having a big rise in one group trying to come here may not be anything noteworthy at all.
Still, many people are going to be concerned – or at least raise an eyebrow – at the fact that more Chinese nationals are trying to enter the United States and are being detained by Border Patrol.
The U.S. doesn’t have a very good relationship with China right now, with each country sending veiled threats and warnings to the other. The surveillance balloons that happened last week was just another step in the fracturing of the relationship between the two countries.
